Two Russian fighters blown up by militant-laid landmines in Donbas, one dies

10:44, 19.02.2018

Two Russian soldiers near the Svitlodarska Duha bulge in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) area in Donbas have been blown up by militant-laid landmines, killing one of them, the ATO Headquarters press service has said.

"According to ATO reconnaissance, two militants of the so-called 7th separate motorized rifle brigade of the illegal armed militant formations set off their own landmines near frontline positions of the ATO at the Svitlodarska Duha bulge on February 18," the press service said on its Facebook page on Sunday evening.

Both militants were Russian citizens, it added.

"One was Vladimir Vladimirovych Lyubinov, born in 1988, a resident of Russian's Krasnodar Krai, who died. The other was Sergei Valeryevich Mikhailov, born in birth 1972, a resident of Astrakhan (Vodnikov Street, ap. 55), who was wounded in a landmine blast," the ATO HQ said.

According to ATO HQ, pro-Russia media may accuse ATO forces of violating the Minsk Agreements and blame the incident on Ukrainian military forces.

"One more fact demonstrating Russian presence in Donbas has been found. A check is underway to find out whether the fighters are members of the Russian armed forces," the press release said.